In the Berkeley Unified School District, funds from the Emergency School Aid Act (ESAA) were used to establish programs in communication skills, particularly writing and motivation for writing, in schools with enrollments which were more than 50 percent minority. Perhaps the most impressive achievement of the program was an unintended side-effect: the minority students received advocates through the tutorial program, resulting in better overall instructional services for the students. The tutorial program was effective in contributing to an overall improvement in writing skills of the participating students. Teachers were generally supportive of the Language Arts Motivation Specialists and the Poetry Playhouse. The negative results included the participation of two schools with less than 50 percent minority enrollment, and payment delays for personnel and counsultants. (Author/BW)